Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery charging status indicator for an electric vehicle, and more particularly, to a battery charging status indicator for an electric vehicle which indicates a charging status of the electric vehicle by a lighting sequence of a plurality of indicator lenses or a color change of one indicator lens.
Description of Related Art
Generally, an electric vehicle includes a charging apparatus including a charging connector for charging a battery, a lamp for indicating whether the battery charging is completed, and the like.
A charging complete indicator lamp is provided at a position where the charging connector exists, and generally configured by an ON/OFF type lamp and thus a charging operator may verify a charging complete status according to a lighting of the lamp.
However, in the case of the charging complete indicator lamp, it is difficult for the charging operator to verify a current charging amount. As a result, there are disadvantages in that a standby state needs to be maintained at all times during the charging operation and it is difficult for the driver in the vehicle to recognize the charging situation because the charging complete indicator lamp is positioned outside the vehicle.
In order to solve the problem, recently, a technique has been gradually applied, which allows a driver to easily recognize a battery charging status by installing a separate display device such as a charging status indicator on an instrument panel in the vehicle.
For example, recently, as the charging status indicator, a type which recognizes the charging status of the electric vehicle by the lighting sequence of a plurality of indicator lenses or color conversion of a united indicator lens has been generally applied.
However, in a charging status indicator in the related art, there are many disadvantages in that a distance when light irradiated from the Light Emitting Diode (LED) reaches the lens is not uniform, illumination uniformity deteriorates, the degree of freedom of the design is low according to the design shape constraints and a dissipation effect is slight and thus durability of an electronic circuit deteriorates, and a vague reflection is generated in a wind shield glass by a lens white color to interfere with a driver's view.
That is, the charging status indicator in the related art has insufficient points from the viewpoint that brightness of lens light is maximized and there is no vague reflection in a glass and the like in order to ensure day visibility of the driver for verifying a battery charging status and uniformity of the illumination needs to be ensured in order to improve marketability.
As an example, the charging status indicator in the related art is configured by a lamp housing 140 assembled with an indicator cover 110 with which an indicator lamp 100 is assembled, an indicator lens 120, and a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 130, an indicator lens 120 for transferring light irradiated from the LED 150 through the lens and lighting-on the lamp for each charging status, a PCB 130 to which an LED 150 is attached, and a PCB housing 160 having a heat flow through-hole for discharging heat generated from the LED 150 and the PCB 130.
However, the charging status indicator in the related art has the following problems.
First, there is a problem with an excessive number of components and an excessive number of assembling holes by applying a separate lamp housing fixing the indicator lens and the PCB.
Second, there are problems in that costs increase by applying each lens and many LEDS thereof in order to separately light-on the lamp for each charging status, a vague reflection occurs in the wind shield glass by applying a white color lens in order to ensure illumination brightness of the lamp to interfere with a driver's view and marketability deteriorates because the internal LED light source is shown.
Third, there is a problem in that cost increases by applying excessive LEDs in order to ensure day visibility.
Fourth, there is a problem in that efficiency deteriorates as compared with a thermal conductive dissipation structure as a heat convection dissipation structure through a heat flow through-hole.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.